


deliverance

by fifteen_half



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Gen, M/M, Mercenaries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:02:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21886378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifteen_half/pseuds/fifteen_half
Summary: Renjun was on his seventh spoonful of strawberry flavored ice cream when he realized just who had offered it to him."I thought you hated strawberry flavored anything?""I do," Jaemin answered, "Why do you think I gave it to you?""Why'd you have it in the first place?"Jaemin shrugged, "Jeno gave it as a get-well soon gift. Probably thought he was being funny. He seriously needs to work on his social skills. Those years hiding in the underbelly of crime definitely hadn't helped."Renjun blinked."Jeno. As in, Lee Jeno. As in, the mercenary on top of our capture or kill list. That Lee Jeno?"Jaemin tensed, then chuckled nervously."Injun-ah, I can explain--,"Or: Agent Jaemin helps Most Wanted Mercenary Jeno save the life of his friend. Jeno then decides he's worth keeping.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	deliverance

Na Jaemin was a special agent under South Korea’s National Counter Terrorism agency, an intelligence organization created by the government to handle and prevent national crisis in utmost secrecy.

He was known as one of the agency’s best snipers, second only to Jung Jaehyun, and was hand picked by the agency’s director, Lee Taeyong, to be part of a special unit under his direct command. While he was considerably weak at hand-to-hand, he more than made up for it with his strategic prowess and proven long-range combat skills. He was widely respected not only for his skills, but also because of his loyalty and willingness to do what he believed was right. Even against orders.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t always right.

And in their line of work, a mistake could cost a great sacrifice.

“Oh-forty-two to command, come in,” he tried again, “Command, come in.”

Nothing.

Jaemin sighed.

Their mission was to infiltrate and destroy the facility he was currently in after gathering intelligence that bio-weapons were being manufactured here. It was an easy enough mission, not far from the usual. Except he wasn’t working with his usual team. And apparently, someone on this team hated his guts enough to cut off his communication device, leaving him blind in the middle of enemy territory. 

They needed a sniper, they said. Theirs was lost in the clusterfuck that was Germany. If Agent 042 was available, they would be grateful to have his help.

What a load of bullshit.

Mark, his unit’s leader, had refused right away. But he and Donghyuck were in the middle of another mission and weren’t on base. And because there were no grounds to refuse the request, here Jaemin was, lost in a possibly hostile facility, all because of a couple of agent’s need for revenge.

Jaemin understood why they were doing this. But that still didn’t mean that he was just going to let them kill him. He already punishes himself enough, thank you very much. Besides, if he did die, how was he going to amend for his sins? Death definitely wasn’t the answer. 

Thank god he’d memorized the facility’s schematics before the mission started. At least he had a general idea where to go.

Not knowing whether the mission was over or not, his only option was to head to their extraction point. There was no sense in trying to complete the mission by himself or to look for his temporary unit.

After checking the time, Jaemin continued onward. He still had thirty minutes till extraction. Plenty of time to get out of dodge. And though this team were assholes and clearly did this on purpose, none of them would be able to leave until then. He just had to make it before the extraction team came.

(Jaemin wouldn’t be surprised if anyone from his unit volunteered themselves to be part of the extraction team (other agents called their unit DREAM because they were the youngest agents even though the name had nothing to do with age nor was it a good name for a unit in a secret organization). His members were a bunch of overprotective idiots, after all.)

((Jaemin was also the most overprotective, but he wasn’t going to admit that.))

Five minutes walking without encountering goons or agents, both of which were equally dangerous for him, Jaemin noticed a panel that he didn’t remember being in the schematics. Inherently curious, something that Renjun had yelled at him about because of the number of times it nearly got him killed, Jaemin moved towards it and without thinking, swiped the stolen access card on the panel.

It flashed green and the walls hissed open.

In hindsight he should have been more careful. Thankfully, he wasn’t greeted with goons with their guns blazing. But someone was shooting at him.

Thanks to his quick reflexes he’d managed to duck behind a crate of some kind. It was his luck that the crate seemed to have been made of heavy duty stuff as the bullets weren’t going through.

The shots continued.

Jaemin had his own gun out and was preparing to duck behind another crate but the shooter simply kept on shooting. 

And all from the same spot. 

Either the shooter was an amateur. Or he was guarding something.

No one liked getting shot at though. Jaemin was a damn good shot and he prided himself with that. Even without looking, Jaemin could easily gun the shooter down based on the trajectory of the shots. And he was about to, until someone yelled,

“Jeno! You need to keep the pressure! I need more time!”

The shots tapered down and with a string of curses, presumably from this Jeno, the shots stopped entirely.

“I don’t know how much humanity you have left but please,” the first person who spoke said, “You’ve already taken enough of us. Please just leave us alone.”

Jaemin stilled.

Those weren’t the words of a goon. And keeping the pressure? It was a brief second, but Jaemin had noticed that there was a third person lying on the floor.

Slowly, carefully, he took a quick look at the people who had shot at him. Needless to say, he was surprised that he recognized them.

One of them was Dr. Kim Jungwoo, the leading scientist in the field of pathology. He was brilliant at his field. His studies were years ahead of his peers. He was also, coincidentally, supposed to be missing.

The other man, however, was the one who surprised Jaemin the most. 

Finding Dr. Kim in a place like this at least made sense. BLACK, the underworld organization that NCT dealt with almost on a daily basis, was notorious for creating biochemical weapons. The sole reason why they infiltrated this facility was because there was evidence that BLACK was operating here. With Dr. Kim’s speciality, there was no wonder why he was here.

Lee Jeno, on the other hand, a mercenary with a kill count higher than all the members of DREAM combined, was a mystery.

Why was one of the underworld’s top mercenaries here? And why was he helping Dr. Kim? Lee Jeno was supposed to be a monster who only wanted to shed blood. He didn’t choose who he killed so long as he killed. He was crazy at the highest degree. His humanity, long gone. That was, at least, what their sources say about him. 

And yet, here Lee Jeno was, apparently helping Dr. Kim out. Wasn’t he supposed to be a cold-blooded killer?

Unfortunately, no matter how curious Jaemin was, this wasn’t exactly the best time to mull this over. 

Holstering his gun, something that Renjun would heavily scold him for  _ should he ever find out _ , Jaemin grabbed the first aid kit strapped on his utility belt and took out the box of medicine patches Jisung had especially modified.

NCT had an incapacitate and/or kill order on Lee Jeno. His instincts, however, told him otherwise.

And so against orders, Jaemin slid the box over to the group of three.

He wasn’t surprised when he nearly got shot in return.

“They’re medi patches. If the wound’s a bleeder, that could temporarily stop the bleeding. Enough to get that guy to the hospital.”

Jaemin could practically feel the question marks in the air.

“I’m— I’m grateful for the help,” Dr. Kim said, “but bandages aren’t enough.”

“They’re not just bandages. There’s nanotech in them. I don’t know the science behind it but it can temporarily close the wound. I’ve tried them myself. It really works. I mean, it still kinda hurts, but it works!”

It seemed like the others didn’t know what to make of his statement. Then Jaemin remembered they thought he was a goon so he added, “I’m not part of BLACK, if that’s what you’re worried about. My team was sent to infiltrate this facility to find evidence of biochemical weapons production. It’s outside my mission parameters to apprehend or kill, other than for self-defense.”

...which was technically a lie because the order to kill or bring in Lee Jeno was still active. But no one needed to know that, right?

“Show yourself,” Dr. Kim demanded, “Tell me how this thing works.”

“No problem. Just… no more shooting, okay?”

“We won’t do anything as long as you don’t.”

Honestly, Jaemin shouldn’t have been too trusting but like the fool he is, he stood up and revealed himself.

A bang. 

Then there was white, hot fire on his stomach and he collapsed on his knees and doubled over in pain.

Before he could grab his own firearm, Jeno was beside him, holding out a medi patch.

Dr. Kim Jungwoo was cursing loudly, cursing at Jeno, at his rashness, but Jaemin could only see and hear Lee Jeno himself.

Maybe their intel was right, after all. Maybe Lee Jeno truly was a crazy, cold-blooded killer and needed to be put down. Maybe—

“You’re NCT, aren’t you? I’m not about to trust anyone from an agency who has been actively trying to kill me. So you either put that patch on yourself or you bleed to death.”

So the guy maybe wasn’t crazy. He just took crazy methods trying to look out for his friend(?). But fuck, did he really have to shoot him for it?

Giving the mercenary the nastiest stink eye he could, Jaemin swiped the medi patch from Jeno, and plopped painfully on his butt.

“A warning would’ve been nice,” Jaemin said, rolling his eyes.

Jeno cocked his head to the side, “You would’ve dodged though.”

Jaemin snorted, “Har har, very funny. _Of_ _course_ I would’ve dodged, idiot!” ripping the medi patch open with his teeth, with one of his hands currently occupied in staunching blood flow, Jaemin took a deep breath and placed it on top of the wound. Hissing as the medi patch did its work, Jaemin glared at the mercenary waiting in front of him.

He wanted to keep on arguing, because  _ fucking hell _ bullet wounds hurt no matter how many times he’s been hit, but the guy Dr. Kim Jungwoo was trying to save had a steadily growing pool of blood underneath him. There really was no time.

Still, he himself was gonna lose blood if he didn’t take care of his wound. So he looked up at Jeno who was intently observing him and-- Jaemin really, really shouldn’t have done this-- he turned his back towards the supposedly cold-hearted mercenary.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“You shot me, you fucker. Don’t you remember that? You punched a fucking whole on my back. Get another patch and put it on, will you?”

“You-- Are you stupid?” Jeno asked, his voice a little higher than usual, “Or wait, I should’ve known. You’re suicidal, aren’t you?”

Jaemin turned his head to raise his brow at Jeno, “The fuck you on about? I’m  _ asking _ you to patch the wound.”

“I’m a cold-blooded killer.”

“So? What’s that got to do with anything? You have two fully functional hands and legs. And no bleeding wounds on your body. You can get the patch and put it on me with no problem.”

Jeno looked at Jaemin as if trying to read his mind. Then his eyes shone with something Jaemin couldn’t understand, something raw and a bit broken. And then without another word the mercenary walked back to the box, took another patch and then, weirdly, tentatively, gently, placed it over the wound.

When Jaemin was preoccupied riding down the pain, Jeno quickly jogged back to Jungwoo and helped the man place the patches on their wounded companion.

As the pain became a constant throbbing instead of the searing from before, Jaemin staggered back to the crate he had previously been hiding behind then slid gracelessly against it to sit tiredly on the floor. He looked at the blood he’d left behind from the wound and sighed.

He’d called the mercenary crazy, but he could see himself doing the same thing if he were in Jeno’s place.

He watched as the group watched over the man on the floor, watched their expressions, how worried and hopeful they looked, watched them carefully, gently, fix the man’s clothes, his hair, made him comfortable even though he was unconscious.

Jaemin watched. And now that he wasn’t currently occupied with keeping his life, Jaemin realized that the man actually looked familiar.

Where had he seen that face before?

He was pondering over this when his watch beeped, signaling him that the set extraction time was near.

He had to get out of here. He had to get all of them out.

Both Lee Jeno and Dr. Kim Jungwoo were looking at him now. Jeno still distrustful, probably wondering if he’d sold him out. But Dr. Kim simply looked curious.

Before Jeno could reach any conclusions that could mean more injury for him, Jaemin informed them, “Extraction team is near,” and then with a bit of mischief, changed his expression and his voice as he said, “Come with me if you want to live.”

While Dr. Kim snorted at that, Jeno aimed his gun at him instead.

“Aigoo, Jeno yah. Relax,” Dr. Kim chuckled, the fondness in his eyes towards Jeno surprising, “Mr. Agent here was quoting a line from a movie.”

If circumstances were different, Jaemin would have joined the teasing. The way Dr. Kim looked at the mercenary, talked to the mercenary and treated the mercenary, and the way the mercenary reacted to him, all spoke of time spent together, of familiarity, and of, well, friendship.

Whoever said that Lee Jeno was incapable of creating normal human relations was completely wrong.

That was something to think about for another time though. Time was running out.

“We’ve got five minutes left. Is he OK to move?”

Jaemin was in the process of pulling himself into standing up when Jeno said, “We’re not coming with you.”

Jaemin blinked. Right. He’d forgotten about Jeno’s capture or kill status. But the injured man…

“NCT has one of the most advanced medical facilities—,”

“We’re not going.”

Jaemin looked towards Dr. Kim, hoping to see reason, but the man looked as adamant as the mercenary.

If this happened before, before his reputation diminished, before every agent lost their respect for him, before agents actually wanted to kill him, if this happened before Germany, Jaemin would have argued more. But things were different now.

So he sighed. Then he took out all of his emergency cash, and all the equipment he had on him that could be useful for the trio. Zipping them all in his emergency kit, he threw them at Jeno, the mercenary deftly catching it with a confused expression on his face.

“You’re the top mercenary in the underworld right now so I’m pretty sure you’ve got an escape plan in the works but a bit of equipment wouldn’t hurt, right? I don’t know why you’re here or why you’re helping them, and yes, there is a capture and kill command for you but,” Jaemin said, looking straight at Jeno, “I don’t fucking care.”

Shrugging, Jaemin added, “Seems like intel was wrong about you, anyway. You don’t seem irredeemably crazy to me. Just a little bit out of it but, aren’t we all?”

Upon saying that Jaemin stood up, grunting in pain as the wound pulled. At any other time he would’ve been conscious about who he displayed weakness to, but right now, he was too tired to care. 

“Just don't shoot me in the back, please.” And then he limped out.

Jaemin was halfway through the facility and recklessly dreaming about his bed back at the base when he felt someone behind him. Glancing back, he raised a brow in question when he saw the mercenary jogging towards him.

“You’re not gonna finish me off out of sight of Dr. Kim, are you? Cause that would be embarrassing for me.”

Jeno, in another display of normal human behavior, rolled his eyes.

“He made me help,” was the mercenary’s reply, “You’re not gonna make it to your extraction point like that.”

Jaemin frowned, “Of course you’d know about my super secret mission’s extraction point.”

The mercenary had the audacity to smirk, “It’s not that difficult to hack into your super secret agency’s network when you know what to look for.”

And before Jaemin could do his duty and demand what Jeno knew, the mercenary deftly took his arm and placed it around his shoulder, carrying half his weight. Jaemin couldn’t help the surprised grunt of pain.

“Fucking hell! Warn a person next time, will you?!”

“You’re just being whiny. Aren’t you supposed to be an elite super secret agent? And isn’t the patch supposed to be advanced, so why does it hurt?”

Jaemin elbowed the mercenary hard enough for Jeno to grunt, “First of all, I’m dramatic not whiny. There’s a difference. Second, who says super secret agents can’t express their pain?! And last, if that were so it’d be called a  _ miracle  _ patch, wouldn’t it? So yes, Lee Jeno, a gunshot wound still fucking hurts. You better make sure your friend gets to a medical facility. And fast, if it was as serious as it looked.”

“Why do you care?” Jeno suddenly asked. When Jaemin turned to look, Jeno was just resolutely walking forward, no expression on his face.

Jaemin could feel that there was weight in the question, though its importance was something Jaemin couldn’t quite grasp. And so he answered, truthfully, “Because it’s why I joined NCT in the first place.”

“To save people?”

Jaemin jut out the bottom of his lips, “That’s one of the things, yeah. Why? You gonna tease me for having a hero complex?”

Lee Jeno snorted, and that was that.

When the two got out of the facility and nearer the extraction point and when the two could hear movement from the other agents who had left Jaemin behind for dead, Jaemin stopped, “I’m good here, thanks. Unless you actually want to be captured then by all means come with.”

The mercenary rolled his eyes at that then he abruptly removed Jaemin’s arms from around his shoulders, surprising Jaemin enough that the agent stumbled as he fought to correct his balance.

“Manners, Lee Jeno. Where are your--,”

“Your name,” the mercenary cut in, “I didn’t get your name.”

Jaemin blinked and then as the drum of motors filled the area, Lee Jeno repeated, “You know who I am. But I don’t know who you are. Manners, right?”

Jaemin couldn’t help but laugh.

Against better judgement (who ever heard of an intelligence agent freely giving out information?), Jaemin replied, “It’s Jaemin. Na Jaemin.”

Said mercenary nodded, and then he was gone.

As Jaemin limped towards the sound of incoming vehicles, he pushed Lee Jeno at the far back of his mind.

It was a one time encounter, after all. It was never going to happen again.

* * *

If it were entirely up to him, Jaemin would have gone straight to his quarters after debrief and slept for as long as he could. But then Renjun was waiting for him after and so that idea was quickly shot down.

If it were any other person, Jaemin would have been able to hide his injury. But Renjun had a sixth sense when it came to the members of DREAM and so he was ushered into the infirmary and was now being prepped for surgery.

“Is this really necessary?” he tried, in a last ditch effort to get out of this situation.

The doctor laughed, “I don’t know. You’ve got a hole on your body, Jaemin ah. You tell me.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes, “You’re just afraid of Renjun.”

“I’m not afraid of Renjun,” Taeil answered, “I’m afraid of finding you covered in blood and lifeless just because you thought you could handle it. That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Extremely weak against genuine concern, Jaemin crumbled.

“That’s cheating, hyung,” he slurred, the anesthesia kicking in, “How could I say no to that?”

Jaemin heard Taeil snicker, felt his hair being ruffled, and then nothing.

When he came to, Yangyang was perched at the foot of his bed, eating  _ his _ get-well snacks.

“That’s mine.”

Yangyang looked at him, then finished the snack in one go.

“You’re in trouble,” was the special agent’s greeting, “Donghyuck’s pissed.”

“I’m not afraid of Donghyuck.”

Yangyang sent him a pointed look and Jaemin acquiesced, “Okay fine. I’m a little afraid of Donghyuck.”

“I don’t need to remind you of Renjun, right?”

Jaemin grimaced.

“Even Jisungie’s pissed. Chenle had already hacked into the system and was in the middle of blacklisting the agents you were with before Mark hyung stopped him.”

“They’re so dramatic.”

“You could’ve died, Jaemin.”

“That mission was a bust,” Jaemin shrugged, “There was no real threat.”

“None of you knew that, though,” Yangyang pointed out, “They’d really planned to get you killed in action. Fortunately for you, that mission wasn’t as serious as intelligence thought. Unfortunately for us, those fuckers get away scott free because we have no evidence that they really were planning to kill you. ‘We were separated from Agent 042’, my ass!” the German born agent scoffed, “Everyone knows the truth. They’re just too damn conceited to acknowledge it.”

Jaemin grinned at Yangyang, both incredibly fond and gratingly mischievous, “Seems like you’re fitting in well! I’m so proud!” Jaemin gushed, “My baby’s growing up! You weren’t this talkative before! I’m seriously so touched right now!”

“You’re so annoying,” Yangyang replied as he rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t have come with you if I knew that!”

“Why? Do you regret coming with me?” Jaemin pouted, “After I’ve been sooooo good to you?!”

The agent sighed, the expression on his face worried and pained, “Yeah, well. They’re only trying to kill you because of me. Cowards. The lot of them. If they have a problem with that happened, they should just come for me--,”

“They’re terrified of you and your enhanced abilities, of course they’d come for me!” 

“--and not you!  _ I’m _ the reason why--,”

“Nope! Nuh-uh!” Jaemin quickly interrupted, “We’ve talked about this! It’s not your fault. Nor was it mine. But I was the one who broke protocol. It was my actions that led to that incident.”

“You only broke protocol because you wanted to save me!” Yangyan roared, his eyes blaring with the need for justice, “If it weren’t for me--,”

“Stoooop,” Jaemin interrupted again, whining this time, “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. We’re over this, Yangyang. Right? Who cares about the other agents anyway? We both had something to do with what happened, true, but it wasn’t our fault alone, no matter how much they say otherwise. I wish they’d stop trying to get their revenge on me, but that’s not gonna happen. At least it’s not as bad now.”

“Yes, because you getting shot isn’t as bad.”

“They didn’t shoot me. It was a lucky shot from a goon.”

Yangyan suddenly threw his hands in the air, agitated, “See! You’re such a liar! Got over this, my ass! You’re punishing yourself again, aren’t you?! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be protecting those asses! If you just admitted that they were the ones who shot you, we could get their asses fired! But nooooo! For some reason, you--,”

“Okay, fine, I did lie.”

“--keep on doing this to yourself! Why-- huh? What?” Yangyang grew silent, serious, his eyes gaining a glint of bloodlust, “Good. Thank you for admitting it. I’ll make sure those sick excuses of agents won’t ever come near you again. I swear, Jaemin. I--,”

“It was Lee Jeno.”

That shut Yangyang up.

Then the younger frowned, looking extremely concerned, “Oh my god, they’ve brainwashed you.”

Jaemin snorted, “You wanted the truth. That’s the truth. I wasn’t gonna mention Lee Jeno in the debrief. Or my report. Too much trouble. He was harmless anyway.”

“Wait wait wait hold up! You just… said soooo many wrong things all at once. Are you serious? You didn’t hit your head somewhere, right? You’re not delusional, right? Lee Jeno, that cold-blooded mercenary, not harmless?! Holy shit! You can’t be anything but delusional! Should I call Taeil hyung to check? Oh my god, why am I even asking you! I’m gonna call Taeil hyung--,”

“Don’t call Taeil hyung! And I’m not delusional! He was there to get Dr. Kim Jungwoo out. And one other scientist I couldn’t identify. I thought he was a cold-blooded killer myself, but he wasn’t like that at all-- well, he had a few screws loose in his head but he was still in the range of normal, if you ask me.”

Yangyang still looked unconvinced, “But he still shot you.”

“Like I said, he still has a few loose screws. This other scientist was badly injured. I offered Jisungie’s medi patch. They knew who I worked for and that we had a kill or capture alert on him so he shot me to test it out. End of story.”

Yangyang blinked, “...and, this makes him sane to you?”

Jaemin blinked back, “Yes? It sounds logical to me.”

“You’re really weird.”

“Hey!” the temporarily invalid agent huffed.

“But you’re interesting like that, so I guess it’s fine.” 

Suddenly, the German spy turned agent looked thoughtful. As he stroked his chin in thought, he asked, “You… have a thing for mercenaries, don’t you?”

“What?” Jaemin asked, feeling scandalized, “What do you mean, a ‘thing’?! What’re you implying?!”

Yangyang spluttered into laughter, “Get your mind off the gutter, pervert!!” but then he gasped in fake fright and said, “Unless you do have a kink for that?”

As Jaemin attempted to throw his pillow at Yangyang, Yangyang deftly but gently gently pinned the other down (the agency’s chief doctor, Moon Taeil, smiled a lot and was very mild mannered but he was a terrifying man when provoked and Yangyang did not want to do that) as he teased, “I mean, I wouldn’t judge you or anything! Your likes are your likes. Who am I to say otherwise? If it were true, I wouldn’t be surprised because mercenaries are hot, and yes, I am basing this on myself. But damn, Jaeminie! First it was Renjun, then it was me. And now, Lee Jeno? You like to collect mercenaries or something?”

More like, Jaemin liked to collect strays, a trait Yangyang knew the other members of DREAM moaned a lot because it got the other agent into so much trouble, but also a trait Yangyang was so very grateful for. Because without it, without Jaemin, Yangyang was sure he’d be dead right now. Without Jaemin and his stupid big fat heart, he wouldn’t be able to be this… happy. Sure he had a lot of complaints about the way NCT worked, although most of it was centered on asshole agents, but NCT was also friends and family. His ex-companions would kill him on sight now, and heck, some of the agents in NCT would kill him in a heartbeat, but it was worth it.

Having a home was worth it.

Now, if only his friends stopped giving him heart attacks every now and then everything would be perfect.

“Seriously though, Lee Jeno? I still can’t grasp the fact that he didn’t kill you.”

Giving up on decking the younger agent, Jaemin huffed in annoyance, “I don’t know why either. I was surprised myself. Then I just didn’t care anymore ‘cause I just wanted to get out of there.”

“Right. And this is why Mark hyung will never include you on the ground team. You’re a dumbass, dumbass.”

“I’m shit at hand to hand, that’s why I’m not on the ground team!”

Yangyang nodded dismissively, “Yeah yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night.”

“Seriously!”

“Great! You’re awake!”

Both Yangyang and Jaemin turned their heads at the newcomer but while Yangyang grinned, Jaemin just groaned.

“I just got out of surgery. I need rest. Please come back next time.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, “Like you weren’t thinking of booking it out of here the moment you woke up.”

Jaemin chuckled, because he really would’ve if Yangyang hadn’t been here.

“How did your mission go?” Jaemin asked, trying to spot signs of injury on his friend, his overprotective tendency flaring up.

“Better than yours did,” the other DREAM member replied, “Mark hyung and I are fine. Not a scratch on either of us,” he assured, grinning fondly at the younger agent who was eyeing every inch of his body, “Can’t say the same for you. Your mission should’ve been a walk in the park! What the fuck happened and why are those asshole agents still breathing?”

Finding a comrade in arms, Yangyang exclaimed, “Exactly! It’s about time someone does something to teach them a lesson!”

Jaemin looked at both of them in disgust, “You’re both acting like children. Knock it out.”

“They tried to take what wasn’t theirs,” the voice Jaemin feared the most said, “Of course we’d act like this.”

Jaemin timidly smiled, “Hello, Injunnie.”

As Renjun scoffed, Jisung and Chenle, who was behind Renjun, came forward and darted towards the bed, their entire being buzzing with worry.

Before both of them could work themselves into a frenzy, Jaemin, with the help of Donghyuck and Yangyang, pushed himself to sit up and wrapped both of his younger friends into a hug.

“Sorry for worrying you,” he said, tightening his hold, trying to convey that he was all right, that he wasn’t going away, “I’m sorry I broke my promise.”

As Jisung and Chenle began ranting at him for being stupid, Mark finally entered the ward, smiling at everyone in amusement.

“I guess I don’t need to lecture you anymore, huh?”

Peering at Mark between Jisung and Chenle, Jaemin pleaded, “Please, hyung. No more.”

Mark laughed, settling himself on a chair beside Donghyuck. 

As if Mark’s entrance was a signal, the rest of the team plus Yangyang also grabbed chairs and settled themselves around Jaemin’s bed. Jaemin however, made Jisung sit beside him, as he could feel the worry still emanating from the younger agent. It made him feel guilty and he resolved to make it up to Jisung after.

When Mark’s eyes took on a steely glint, the room’s atmosphere instantly became serious. Looking straight at Jaemin, he asked, commanded, “Tell us everything, Jaemin. And don’t leave anything out.”

**Author's Note:**

> naimi! i finally posted it!!!


End file.
